Facebook: Social Networks Don't Give People Syphilis. People Give People Syphilis.

That nasty case of syphilis you came down with last week? Don't blame Facebook. The social network is dismissing recent reports that it has played a role in increasing the rate of the sexually transmitted disease. Facebook dismissed the charge as "ridiculous," stating that it "is no more responsible for STD transmission than newspapers are responsible for bad vision."

[Christopher Columbus was said to have contracted syphilis. There is is no evidence, however, that he had an active Facebook account.]

That nasty case of syphilis you came down with last week? Don't blame Facebook. The social network is dismissing recent reports that it has played a role in increasing the rate of the sexually transmitted disease. Facebook dismissed the charge as "ridiculous," stating that it "is no more responsible for STD transmission than newspapers are responsible for bad vision."

The report arose out of Teesside in North East England, where public health employees claimed to have discovered a link, particularly among young woman. The site has served as a "new way to meet multiple partners for casual sexual encounters," according to The Telegraph.

Facebook called the report "exaggerated," adding that it "ignore[s] the difference between correlation and causation."

Brian Heater has worked at a number of tech pubs, including Engadget, Laptop, and PCMag (where he served as Senior Editor). Most recently, he was as the Managing Editor of TechTimes.com. His writing has appeared in Spin, Wired, Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, The Onion, Boing Boing, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Beast and various other publications. He hosts the weekly Boing Boing interview podcast RiYL, has appeared as a regular NPR contributor and shares his Queens apartment with a rabbit named Lucy.
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